Note: For my patient readers, I thought I'd treat you to a more bulkier addition. I am far too eager to introduce a familiar face to you, it's one of my favourite moments in the story. Anyway, I don't want to give too much away. Enjoy fellow readers!
"Anna…" Yoh said, sitting down. He was smiling at her kindly, and Anna looked away from him, back at the floor. "Yes…?"
"Is something the matter?"
"N-no…"
"Come now. You can tell me…"
"No. Nothing is wrong …"
"Anna." Yoh said again, lifting his hand and caressing her cheek gently. "Don't lie to me. I can tell just by looking at you that something is wrong." Anna blinked slowly. "It's just… no, forget it. I'm fine, Yoh."
"If you say so."
"I…" she shook her head, and then put her hands on Yoh's lap. "This might sound so weird, but I've been worried about you." Yoh looked a little shocked. "You… have?" he was surprised that she would say that.
"Yeah… Ever since we found out that Hao's come back."
"Why? You know I could kill him again… with my friends' help, just like last time…" he trailed off, now thinking about what he had just said.
"Yes… but you've been acting different lately."
"… How so …?"
"Well, for one thing, you spoke to me strangely today…"
"Anna, I know. I'm sorry if I upset you …"
"And your whole attitude! You don't look the same…"
"This is all in your head."
"What…"
"Please, just try and forget. You know that you're just imagining the whole thing."
"I… I am…?"
"Yes." He touched her other cheek gently too, and looked once more into here eyes, as if diving right into the ocean. She looked into his eyes too, and noticed the emotionless expression. He got up soon after and walked to his room, Anna in shock, reliving that moment. "Am I really just imagining things?"
"Jun!" Yoh greeted when he walked into his room to see her standing there tapping her foot. She looked down at his feet and the slowly moved her sight up to his face.
"You look very different Yoh…if that is your real name." she said angrily moving her hands from a folded position to her hips. Yoh laughed care freely.
"What is that supposed to mean?" smiled Yoh closing the door and sitting on a chair on his right. He slouched into the chair and yawned.
"Don't play dumb with me Asakura! And that must be your real second name am I correct?" said snapped approaching him and eyeing him from head to toe once again.
"Of course it is!" he laughed again. "Asakura Yoh!"
"Do you think I'm stupid? I have only been here 5 minutes and I come to find Anna a mess and Ren in a state. What is going on around here?" She yelled.
"Hey easy, easy keep your voice down." Smiled Yoh moving both his hands up and down in front of him simultaneously. Jun leaned forward and put both of her hands on the arms of Yoh's chair and looked him in the eyes. "Seriously Jun!" he laughed again smiling and closing his eyes. "Ever heard of personal space? You do know I'm engaged…"
"Don't you dare talk to me like I am your friend." She said through her teeth. "What did you say to my brother?" Blinking, Yoh stared at her like she wasn't even there. "Answer me!"
"I talk to Ren all the time. He's my friend. I've said hundreds of things to him!" suddenly Yoh's eyes looked familiar. He seemed normal for a moment. Like nothing was wrong at all.
That's all it should take to get her off my back.
Jun stood up and then sighed. She took several spaces away from him and stood near the window.
"I have never seen Ren or Anna like they are now…" she muttered quietly.
"It's the heat!" said Yoh jumping up. "It goes to your head."
"You did say something to Ren. Something that spooked him. Maybe by mistake Yoh?"
"Hey. Back up a bit. Time out." Said Yoh making a T out of his hands. "Who did you think I was?" he said looking at her seriously.
"I thought...you were..." she muttered turning. "Hao..."
"What!" Yelled Yoh looking very shocked. "You thought...I was..."
"I'm sorry I can see I was wrong..." said she approaching the door.
"Where are you going now?" Asked Yoh watching her.
"I am going to go and say good bye to Anna and Ren. Suddenly, even in this temperature, I feel so...cold..." she exited and made her way back to the kitchen. Yoh shut the door after she left and then sat down on the bed. He had no emotion in his face at first. But then he smiled. He began to chuckle and then suddenly laugh. He laughed like he had gone completely insane and then he sighed patting him self on the stomach satisfied.
"Why did my brother have such idiotic friends? Even the ones who are clicking on don't see through me." He got up and approached the window. He saw Jun leaving and HoroHoro and his sister running past the house. HoroHoro was running and sweating while Pirika was running backwards in front of him holding a stopwatch. They both waved to Jun and then continued up the road. Yoh smiled his new smile as Jun walked further down the path. After glancing up at the window to see him watching, Jun hurried along her way. After she had gone completely out of site and the view was empty of people. Yoh chuckled quietly again. "I think it is finally time to leave and make our way to the Patch Village. There, succeeding to reach my goal, and take the Great Spirits once more..."
The next day Yoh woke up early, making his way into the kitchen for a drink. Before entering, he heard voices in there.
"Something is definitely different about him."
"How can you tell?"
"Just by the things he said …"
"What is it, Ren?"
"N-nothing… Forget I said anything."
Yoh took this opportunity to walk into the room and grab a bottle of water. "Morning Ren, HoroHoro." he greeted, smiling. "Now, whom might you be talking about?" Ren glared. "Nobody, Yoh." He shot. Yoh smiled. "Okay, if you say – "
"It's you, dude! You've like gone over the top!" HoroHoro blurted, covering his mouth afterwards. Yoh pretended to look shocked. "Me? Oh, no, of course I haven't. You are all acting strangely."
"What no way!"
"Ren…" Yoh focused his gaze on the Chinese shaman, who returned his look with a glare.
"Yes?"
"Erm… well about what I said yesterday. I'm sorry… I didn't mean to hurt you or force you to relive those painful memories. Do you forgive me?"
"Well, I suppose …" He said, looking down on to the floor. "Its just … you've never done anything like that before. I could have sworn you were…"
"Hao? Jun told me all about it."
"She … she did?"
"Yeah, its cool." He laughed. "Anyways… I wanted to ask you guys something."
"What?" asked HoroHoro, hearing the daring in Yoh's voice and nearly tripping over himself in excitement. Yoh gave them a mysterious grin and whispered, "You guys up for a trip to the Patch Village …?"
"A trip to the Patch Village!" gasped HoroHoro.
"But we have not been informed to go there yet." added Ren leaning back in his chair and lifting his arm over it and beginning to rock back and forth.
"Well, do we really have to follow the rules all the time. I mean, I know Hao doesn't." said Yoh trying to be serious, but he couldn't help but grin.
"What has gotten into you dude? Since when do you compare your self to your brother."
"Well..." he really couldn't help to say what he thought. "He is better than me." After saying this Ren stood on his feet.
"Something is wrong with you..." he said eyeing him.
"You and your sister have a lot in common you know."
"Hmmm?" questioned Ren not understanding exactly what he meant.
"Well you both seem to act like you're in love with me. Eyeing me from head to toe all the time." HoroHoro and Yoh couldn't help but laugh hysterically. Ren shifted on his feet annoyed and lifted his fist in the air and then lowered it with his other hand as if resisting. Yoh wiped his eye with his index finger and then sat down and had a sip of his morning drink. Ren slumped back down on his chair and sat his head on his fist and murmured something in his language. Anna walked into the room through the back door carrying a few envelopes.
"Mail came today." she said looking through it. "Bill...bill...crap...bill..." she stopped and lifted one out of the bunch and held it up in front of her to have a better look. "Hey Yoh this one is for you. Well...Manta and you."
"But Manta is still in England." said HoroHoro pouring some cereal into a bowl and then picking up the milk to pour that in too. But nothing came out of the carton. HoroHoro shrugged and then picked up his spoon and ate the cereal anyway.
"Okay well since he isn't home yet I'll open it myself." said Yoh holding his hand out to Anna. Anna passed it to him and then stood behind him to read it over his shoulder. Yoh looked over his shoulder at her and thought about shifting her away from him, but then chose against it. He opened the envelope and pulled out the folded piece of paper. It was written neatly with perfect handwriting. "Hmm...Hand written!"
"Who is it off?" said Anna leaning over him to lift the paper up to see the name at the bottom. "Oh Lyserg."
"What does it say?" mumbled HoroHoro shoving food down his throat. Anna and Yoh were murmuring the words very quietly to them selves. When finished Yoh turned it on its side to tear it in half.
"What are you doing! This has to be some sort of mistake!" snapped Anna snatching it off him.
"It's not important." said Yoh trying to take it back but Anna turned away reading it again with a worried look on her face.
"Is something wrong Anna?" said Ren trying not to pay attention to HoroHoro's terrible table manners.
"Lyserg has wrote that Manta left England three days ago, and he has even put it percifically, 'Since our times are very different, I have found that Manta should have arrived at your house two days ago. He left late at night so that would make it some time the next morning exactly 48 hours ago." said Anna looking up from the paper.
"But...that can't be right. If he left Lyserg's house 3 days ago..." said Ren thinking about what might have happened to him.
"Where is he?" finished Anna leaning back on the counter and putting the paper next to her. "You don't think..."
"Oh no..." whispered HoroHoro.
"Hao!" the three of them yelled at the exact same time, with the worst of thoughts running through their minds. Yoh's face narrowed to the left of the room with his bottom lip in, he breathed deeply through his teeth and out again.
Now what?
HoroHoro got up and pat Yoh on the back. "Yoh, its okay…" he said, noticing the look of worry on his friend's face. Yoh simply shook his head, and failed in shunning a nervous laugh. "You have no idea."
"Of what?"
"Nothing…" he said, looking at the floor. Then, deciding it best to change the subject before he gave anything else away, he asked, "So, what do you think of my offer?" HoroHoro was first to answer. "Sounds cool to me. I still don't understand it though…"
"What is there not to understand?"
Ren found a need to jump in. "Everything! Why do you even want to go to Patch? You don't even make any sense!"
"Yoh. What are you three talking about?" Anna demanded. Yoh smiled at her. "Nothing. Just a little chat we had earlier …"
"Tell me. Now."
"No, Anna."
"What did you just say?" she yelled, blushing furiously.
"I said No."
"Are you … disobeying me?"
"Yup." Anna stormed out of the room hearing him say that. Ren and HoroHoro gasped. "Yoh! Dude, what the hell has gotten into you? I've never heard you say that to Anna before!"
"Oh well."
"Yoh, you have lost your mind."
"Maybe not. I just want to know what you think. And I'm sure Hao will be making his way there soon anyways to take the Great Spirits again, so I can't risk putting Anna in danger. So she can't know about this." This wasn't exactly a lie; he was going to get the Great Spirits whether Ren and HoroHoro came or not. And he couldn't afford having Anna interfere this time. Ren nodded. "You are right Yoh. I think we should go. Maybe even find out what he did to Manta." HoroHoro grinned. "Yeah! This could be fun! It's been awhile since we're there, and I've been dying to go back anyway!"
"Good." Yoh said. "We should go and get ready then. I think we should leave as soon as possible."
Silence grew in the room as everyone looked around wondering what to do next that morning. HoroHoro looked down the corridor and peered at the glass on the front door and saw a tall figure stood there. The doorbell then rang.
"You don't think that could be Manta do you?" whispered HoroHoro. Ren turned his head around to see the figure.
"Oh yes, he seriously did grow 5 feet over the past week!" spat Ren sarcastically.
"Don't be like that Ren," said Yoh standing up and walking to the door. He stopped half way down the hall. "Come in!" he called.
"Master Yoh the door is locked." Came a familiar voice.
"Ryu dude!" called HoroHoro. "We're in kitchen go round back!"
"Okay be there is a second." Called Ryu, his image disappearing from the window. Yoh turned around and walked slowly back into the room, stretching his arms up and yawning. He took his seat again and reached for the cereal box, put his hand inside it and pulled out a small handful of cereal and poured them into his mouth and quietly chewed.
"Hello everyone long time no see." smiled the tall shaman walking through the back door. His hair was in his slit boomerang shaped style and he was carrying his wooden sword over his shoulder.
"Hey dude!" greeted HoroHoro.
"Hello again." Sniffed Ren closing his eyes and beginning to doze.
"Wow the heat is really on today!" laughed Ryu a sort of uncertainty in his voice.
"Would you mind telling us what you are doing here?" said Ren not moving his head or opening his eyes to him.
"Well…erm…you see."
"Sounds like you have some news for us?" said Yoh focusing his gaze on Ryu.
"Well to get strait to the point, I was riding my bike through the west desert." He demonstrated which way west is by pointing out the window. "And it was a hot day and the wind in my face felt wonderful it really was one of those magic moments I live for-"
"And this is getting strait to point how?" interrupted Ren opening his eyes and glaring at him.
"Okay well the point is, you will never guess who I found hitch hiking there!" he laughed looking at them hoping for at least one guess.
The room remained quiet.
"C'mon at least guess?" said Ryu hopefully expecting a response.
The room still remained empty of sound.
"Okay." Said Ryu bending down and putting his hand about 2 feet above the ground. "He's about this big-"
"You found Manta!" yelled HoroHoro happily.
"That's wonderful! The squirt is okay!" said Ren smiling. Yoh's face looked surprised and his face looked suddenly filled with shock.
"You-You found him?" he said quietly trying to think about what he should do now.
He knows about me. He'll ruin everything. What am I going to do when he tells all these worthless shamans?
"No!" laughed Ryu. "Not Manta!" he paused a second. "No wait…the kid is missing?"
"Well it seems that way," said HoroHoro standing up and putting his empty cereal dish into the sink and then sitting down again.
"But if you don't mean Manta then…who do you mean?" asked Ren.
"Fellow friends, time for you to meet a familiar face!" smiled Ryu pushing back the door. A small kid wearing an orange cloak and a yellow headband in her big hair walked into the room. She was almost crying. Yoh stood up on his feet.
"Opacho!" he yelled almost tipping backwards over his chair.
"Opacho says hello." Whispered Opacho.
"Awh!" smiled HoroHoro. "He's so cute!"
"She!" spat Ren.
"No…he…" said Ryu.
"She…" whispered Opacho. "Opacho is a girl."
"Wow that is so weird! I always thought he was a boy!"
"She!" yelled Ren gazing at the new arrival.
"Opa…Opa…" stammered Yoh. The painful memory rang in his ears.
'You not Opacho's Hao-Sama. You're…you're scary!.'
"No…" said Yoh faintly stepping back. "Opacho…"
"Opacho does not forgive you." Said Opacho looking angrily at him.
"You…you don't?" said Yoh backing out of the room.
"Hey Yoh are you alright?" Asked HoroHoro. Ren turned his head on one side.
"Where are you going? You look like you saw a ghost." He said smiling sarcastically again.
"Why don't you forgive me?" Hao completely forgot that he is in Yoh's body not his own. He thought Opacho meant she still does not forgive him for shouting at her.
Just when was I angered by these pests?
Yoh covered his ears as if to block out the voices.
"You killed Hao-Sama! Opacho's Hao-Sama is gone because of you!" she yelled. Ryu bent down and covered the kid's mouth and laughed carelessly.
"I am so sorry Master Yoh we did have this talk on the way over here -"
"Get your hand off of her now!" yelled Yoh pointing at Ryu stepping forwards. Ryu's hand shot back up in the air.
"So sorry Master Yoh it will not happen again!" he said stepping back away from Opacho. Yoh blinked and looked at Opacho's confused face. Yoh smiled a very happy smile at Opacho's previous words.
'You killed Hao-Sama! Opacho's Hao-Sama is gone because of you!"
"Why are you smiling at Opacho?" Asked Opacho staring strait back at him.
"Erm…Opacho. Your Hao-Sama is alive." Said Yoh standing up strait and put his hands in his pockets.
"He is?" repeated Opacho.
"Yeah dudette he came back a few days ago." Said HoroHoro.
"Where is he? Opacho must apologize!" yelled Opacho turning to run out the door. Ryu went to grab her but Yoh ran up to him and hit his arm away.
"What did I say before!" shouted Yoh running out the door after Opacho.
"What has gotten into him?" asked Ryu once Yoh had run further from the house.
"Everything." Said Ren. "Absolutely everything."
Out side Yoh caught up to Opacho.
"Opacho hang on a second!" he laughed holding onto her arm.
"Just because Opacho's Hao-Sama is back doesn't change that you took him away in the first place!" cried Opacho trying to break free.
"Opacho! It's me! Hao!" said Yoh turning to kneel in front of her. Opacho blinked.
"You are not Hao-Sama!" said Opacho angrily.
"Yes I am! It's me please believe me Opacho." Yoh said softly. Opacho looked into Yoh's eyes and saw the difference in them. She touched Yoh's face gently.
"Hao?" she whispered. "Is it really you?"
"Yes…" smiled Yoh bending his head and lifting it. "And you have no idea how happy I am to hear you have missed me. But I want to ask you something..."
"What is it Hao-Sama?" smiled Opacho tears running down her face.
"Do you forgive me?" That moment between them meant the whole world to the pair of them. Opacho threw her arms around him and happily whispered.
"Yes. I do forgive you …Opacho's Hao-Sama. I do." Yoh held his long lost friend very tightly to him and felt almost close to tears himself.
"Come inside Opacho." Said Yoh lifting her up and carrying her back to the house. 'I think I have a lot of explaining to do about what is going on."